The Awakening
by rockerkevin
Summary: A being is going to be awake soon. There will be many fighters and much blood. I do love reviews. If I don't get any I wont make a new chapter.
1. The Meeting

Smoke and steam filled the dark hallway. Stone bricks lined the walls and ceiling, while

water dripped through the cracks. A lone man in a dark robe walked down the hall, a hood

covering his face. He coughed, and his breath was visible in the air, a white mist,

indistinguishable from the smoke. A rat scurried along the floor, his toenails clicking on

the polished stone.

The man stopped suddenly and cocked his head. A noise was heard, footsteps, coming his

way. He lowered his hood and revealed his face for the first time, which was that of a

middle-aged man. His hair was a dark brown with light blue streaks, which were not

really blue, but actual frozen strands of hair. He grimaced, and his lips were also blue, as

though he had a constant frostbite.

The air in the hallway began to rise in temperature, and an orange glow appeared around

the corner in the hall. Throwing off his cloak, we see that the man is wearing a dark blue

ninja outfit, with a gold medallion hanging from his neck. A burst of heat blew his hair

back, and, assuming a fighting stance, he waited for his opponent to show himself.

Scorpion stood just outside the tunnel in a small cove. Cracking his knuckles, he grinned

and rubbed his palm.

"Show yourself!" 

Scorpion reached behind his back feeling a long sharp metal spear and smiled.

Scorpion then lowed his arm and smiled. He scratched the underside of his mask, then

stepped out into the hall.

"Hello, Scorpion ." said the man in blue. 

"Hello yourself, my friend." 

Scorpion raised one hand, palm upward. It looked as if he was about to extend some sort

of peace offering, then--- 

"Get over here!" he shouted. Thrusting his hand forward, a spear tip attached to a long

chain shot out of his palm, flying across the hall and stabbing the blue man in the

shoulder. Scorpion yanked his arm backward and pulled the man with it, blood dripping

down his shoulder. Suddenly the line snapped, and the chain was pulled back to

Scorpion's arm empty. He growled in rage, and looked up to see that the

chain was frozen, and the man had ripped it out of his shoulder with relatively no pain.

The man in blue smiled. He held out one hand, face down, fingers curled. Taking a deep

breath, he closed his eyes and concentrated. To Scorpion, it seemed as if all of the

moisture was being sucked out of the air. A twirl of mist and water began to form under

his hand, then turned to ice. He spread his fingers out wide and the ice ball flew towards

his opponent, hitting him in the left leg.

Scorpion screamed in agony as his leg froze instantly, freezing itself to the cold stone

floor. The man in blue opened his eyes and pulled his hand back towards him, a smile on

his face, as if he had just won a small battle. His smile only irritated Scorpion, who

removed a dagger from his thigh holster and proceeded to hack away at the ice

surrounding his limb.

Fast as lightning, the man in blue threw out his arm to touch Scorpion on the shoulder.

Ice instantly formed around his hand, and reached down Scorpion's arm and torso.

Slowly, the blue man knew, Scorpion would soon lose feeling in his muscles and be

unable to move. 

"Say it." The man spoke in a cool, calm voice. Scorpion struggled, but now only his head

was free of frozen entrapment. He sneered. "Never." 

"Say it." The man said again. 

"Fine. You win this round, Sub."

The man in blue, whose alias was Sub-Zero, removed his hand and the ice began to thaw

instantly. Scorpion struggled, and soon the ice shattered, and he collapsed to the ground.

Smiling, Sub-Zero held out a hand of support, but Scorpion batted it away. 

"You've been practicing." He said, trying to regulate his breathing. 

"And you haven't. Who was your last opponent, a ten year old girl?" Sub-Zero laughed at

his own joke, but Scorpion did not find it funny. 

"I've been busy." He said. 

"As have I." replied Sub-Zero. "And as such, I assume you are here for the same reason

that I am?" 

"The awakening?"

"Yes." Sub-Zero waited as Scorpion pushed himself off of the ground and adjusted his mask. "Come, we don't have much time."

Not very far away from the two ninja forms, a man crouched in the shadows. His black

outfit blended in perfectly in the dark hall, and if his leaders had been right, he would not

have to hide for much longer. Watching the two men battle had been educational for him,

and he now knew that this would be no simple attack. He must be careful, but as he

followed them down a long flight of steps, he knew that careful was a long way away.


	2. Flashbacks

Sub-Zero led his friend down the stairs. Down here it was brighter, torches lined the

walls. He knew that time was short, that soon the deadline would pass, and he would

have to wait. 

"Damn it!" He said, tripping over a rat. He fell down, unable to steady himself. Red spots

lined his vision. His head cracked against the stone floor. He passed out.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What do you want from me?" Sub-Zero yelled 

"You killed my family!" Scorpion shouted with nothing but hatred in his voice 

Sub-Zero's mind was clouded. He was reliving the past. 

"Yes I did do this and I am sorry. But I can not change the past." Sub-Zero said looking at the

ground, his face filled with guilt. 

"You killed my family!" Scorpion shouted. He ran at Sub-Zero, fire burning in his eyes.

And his face. 

His head was a skull, flame engulfing it all over. Jaws wide, his ninja garb was tattered,

revealing the skeleton underneath...

"The times have changed." It was Grandmaster Chi. "We must catch up with the new

world order. The Lin Kuei and the Shirai Ryu have been at each others throats for too

long, and this fusion of man with machine will undoubtedly bring about this peace, which

we have so longed desired."

"Smoke..."

"Shh.., come." replied Smoke. He raised a metallic arm. 

"Are you still in there?" Sub-Zero asked. 

"I think so..."

Fire rained down upon his head. Raising his arm, ice spread out from his fingertips and

created a shield around his body. Every ember that hit the ice weakened it, and soon it

cracked. Covering his eyes, he ran towards his boat. Once he reached it, he jumped into

the belly of the small craft.

But there was no craft. He fell through the illusion, down into the water. He tried to come

up for breath, but there was no air. Screaming, he fell down, through the sand that was

not really there, the black water consuming him, yet he could not feel it. His last vision

came up on a wave, and it was of Scorpion. He ran towards a man dressed in

green, and then there was a great explosion of light and heat.

And then he woke up.

"Friend. Friend." said Scorpion, shaking Sub-Zero on the shoulder. "Are you alright?" 

He sat up. "I think so." 

"You took a big fall. Come, it is almost time." Scorpion waited as Sub-Zero pushed himself

up. 

"You did not damage it, I hope?" Scorpion asked, his eyes as white as the smoke around

them. Sub-Zero reached inside his vest pouch and felt around. He sighed in relief and

removed his hand. 

"No, it is fine." 

"Then we should continue."

It was hard for the man in hiding to suppress the laugh he felt while watching Sub-Zero

fall, but he had. It wasn't worth enough, not enough to jeopardize his mission. And with

the torches it was harder to hide himself. Shinnok would not tolerate his failure.

Shinnok himself was interesting as an employer. He was not powerful, not anymore, but

there was an aura around him that suggested he had great strength. He scared Saibot, but

he needed the money. And, once he had captured the medallion, Shinnok promised him

great wealth.

"This is it." Sub-Zero said. Scorpion looked around. 

"I hear something." 

"I hear nothing. Look, there is the pedestal." He removed the gold medallion from his

pouch, the gold and the jewels glinting in the firelight. He raised it high, above his head,

and set it on the pedestal.

A loud clang rang out in the hall. Scorpion whirled around and threw out his spear. It

struck something in the shadows, and Scorpion tugged it toward him. It was a man in a

black thief outfit, robes around his head and torso. He grimaced at the pain, but said

nothing.


	3. Death Upon Question

Scorpion had tied Saibot up to a small column. The rusty chains were digging into the

man's skin, and soon they would cut off his blood circulation. To hell with it. No amount

of money was worth this. Noob may have a wide wallet, but his pain tolerance was very

low. 

"Alright, what do you want to know?"

Scorpion walked over to him. He crouched down to his level and stared at the man, his

milky white eyes giving no indication of his next move. They stared at each other for

almost thirty seconds, neither one of the men moving. Finally Scorpion spoke. 

"What is your name, and what is you purpose?" 

Noob was quiet for a moment. The man talked robotically, as if he wasn't really speaking.

But the strength of the man was no joke. 

"My name is Noob Saibot."

"Noob Saibot. Where are you from?" Scorpion still had not moved. It was inhuman, to stay

in a crouch for that long. 

"The Netherrealm." Before Scorpion could ask his next question, Saibot went ahead and

blurted everything out. "I was hired by Shinnok to come here and steal the medallion

from Sub-Zero."

Upon hearing his name, the blue ninja turned for the first time and actually studied the

man in black. 

"Shinnok, did you say?" 

"Yeah-yes." replied Saibot. His eyes were wide with respect, for his employer had told

stories of this ninja's powers. No, not ninja. Lin Kuei. They used to be ninjas, but broke

off. 

"Where is Shinnok?" 

"I do-do-do-do not know." stuttered the man. "He contacted me in the d-dark." 

"Where in the dark?" pressed Sub-Zero. Scorpion reached his arm out and grabbed Noob

by the throat. 

"Do not lie." he said.

A bright light shone down suddenly into the hall. 

"Dammit!" shouted Sub-Zero. He began to run back towards the pedestal where the

medallion was. He reached it just in time and inserted the medallion into a small groove

in the stone. The light reached a point on the floor that was more polished than others,

and it reflected off of that into the ceiling, then bounced around on a series of mirrors,

lighting up the room and the pedestal in particular.

Scorpion turned around in the light. Every corner of the room started to move, and the

dark shapes that were unnoticeable before suddenly were clear. Six figures in black

garbs, similar to Saibot's, advanced upon the three men. Sub-Zero hadn't noticed, he was

reading out some ancient chant.

Scorpion turned back to Saibot, but he was gone. The chains that had held the man only

seconds before were in a clump at the column base. He leaped to a standing position and

turned to face the men in black. Assuming a Pi Gua stance, he raised one arm to protect

his face and dropped one to his waist. Behind his mask, a small smile formed on his face.

Sub-Zero read the writing on the pedestal to himself, oblivious of the fighting that was

going on behind him. Soon, it would be over soon. The bright light began to fade in the

room, and if he did not hurry, the writing would be unreadable for thousands of years. For

it was every 10,000 years that the moon made this exact lunar path, and only the light of

the moon would make the etchings readable.

Scorpion grabbed one man's wrist, lifted it up, then took his other arm and set it under it,

then jerked down. The man screamed as his wrist broke, then he lost his breath as

Scorpion gripped his throat and squeezed.

The letters were beginning to fade. Sub-Zero cursed under his breath and read faster.

Someone punched Scorpion in the back. He turned, grabbed him, and threw him into the

wall. Another man flipped out a switchblade that he had hidden, then slashed it across

Scorpion's wrist. His glove fell away, revealing a skeletal hand underneath. Scorpion

stared at the man, who's face was full of terror. He pulled his arm back and dropped the

knife, shaking. 

Scorpion reached his bone hand up to his mask. He placed all fingers under it, then raised

it to the middle of his nose. It was all bone, no flesh. Blood dripped off his jawbone. He smiled. 

The man screamed, and Scorpion opened his mouth. His eyes turned from their usual

milky white to orange, and he exhaled deeply. Fire shot out of his mouth and engulfed the

black ninja. Lowering his mask, his eyes returned to his normal color.

Sub-Zero finished reading the pedestal. He looked up, waiting for something to happen.

But nothing did. He turned around and saw Scorpion standing in the middle of the room,

dead men all around him. 

"What happened?" 

Scorpion looked around. He shrugged. "Followers. Is it done?" 

Now it was Sub-Zero's turn to shrug. "I don't know." 

"Come, let us leave." 

Sub-Zero joined Scorpion, and they both walked out of the hall.

Many hours after they had left, Noob Saibot returned to the hall. His body materialized

right next to where he was previously bound. He smiled, knowing that the two ninjas

were wondering where he had gone. His group had been killed, though. Oh well, it was a

necessity. He walked up to the pedestal and reached into the hole in it's center. He

removed the medallion. Turning, he walked back down the stairs, stepping carefully so as

not to slip on the blood.

"You have done well, my son." Shinnok said.

"And my reward?" Noob asked. 

"Of course. As payment for your loyal services, Noob Saibot, I offer you the gift of your

existence." 

"My existence?" 

"Understand, ninja. I shall soon consume all energies, including the life forms of all that

live. But I shall spare you." 

"If it weren't for me, you would still be rotting at the pit of the Netherrealm." 

"Silence!" Shinnok raised his arms and a red mist appeared. He pointed at Noob, then

shouted in a high, crisp voice. The mist zoomed toward Saibot. He screamed, but it was

too late. He was consumed by it, coved on all sides. Then it sucked into his mouth. His

eyes wide, he looked around at Shinnok, who wore a big smile. Saibot gasped for air.

Then he exploded.

Laughing, Shinnok held the medallion high over his head. It glowed red, as did his eyes.

His laughed echoed off the walls, and the sky above his glass dome was cloudy. With red

clouds.

The hall was quiet now. All of the excitement had passed, for now at least. The pedestal

was still there, and it was pulsing with a red light. Unbeknownst to Shinnok, or Sub-Zero,

was that the chant had been completed and the curse was made. The Guardian would be

back soon. And then it would be done.


End file.
